Women open in high gear, dismantle Bryan College 102-31

Nov 04, 2010

Photo: Freshman point guard Briana Jordan and the
Golden Eagles had a solid debut Thursday night in Eblen
Center

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --. – It was only an exhibition contest,
but the team that coach Sytia Messer put on display Thursday night
in the Eblen Center was mighty impressive. The Tennessee Tech
women’s basketball team put six newcomers into the mix with
six returnees and cruised to a 102-31 victory over Bryan
College.

While it doesn’t officially count in the records, it was the
first 100-point game by a Golden Eagle women’s squad in 10
years, since beating Morehead State 103-74 in the 2000-01
season.

Freshman Diamond Henderson began her Tech career with 22 points,
four assists and seven steals to headline the attack, one of four
Golden Eagles to score in double figures. Junior transfer Brittany
Darling had 14 points and a team-high five rebounds, Tiara Hopper
added 11 points and Krystal Stirrup scored 10.

Freshman point guard Briana Jordan also had a standout effort with
nine points and seven assists. Kylie Cook added nine points while
Tacarra Hayes (photo below) had eight points and five assists.

Sophomore Katherine Barker chipped in with eight points, four
rebounds, two assists and four steals.

The top scorer for Bryan College was Anna Thomas with nine, while
Shea Thomas and Sara Barnett had five each.

The Golden Eagles wasted no time is establishing their gameplan,
with uptempo play from end to end. Tech moved the ball around to
find good looks to the tune of 63 percent shooting in the opening
half. The Golden Eagles finished the game hitting 57.1 percent,
going 40-for-70. They were 7-for-18 from the arc and hit 75 percent
(15-for-20) at the free throw line.

With nine different players notching marks in the scorebook in the
first half as Tech rolled to a 54-12 lead at the intermission.
Brittany Darling topped the chart with 13 points at the break while
Diamond Henderson had nine, Tacarra Hayes eight and Briana Jordan
seven.

The Tech defense was also outstanding, holding the Lion women to
25 percent shooting and forcing 20 turnovers. For the game, Bryan
improved to 31.6 percent shooting by hitting 39 percent in the
second half, but the Lions were tagged with 41 turnovers. Tech had
23 steals.

The Golden Eagle get the regular season underway on Monday, Nov.
15, when they return to the Eblen Center floor to host Alabama
A&M in a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.

Season and individual game tickets are on sale online at
TTUsports.com, at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by
calling (931) 372-3940.